re: How much money do you put in savings every paycheck?

"Savings" strikes me as a fairly generic term, since the purpose of much of my savings is to spend later. But I'll share a contribution to this thread. Some of my monthly savings are actually spending accounts. Something else I consider savings is actually part of my employment compensation.

re: How much money do you put in savings every paycheck? (Posted on 12/6/12 at 2:53 pm to VABuckeye)

This is similar to how I manage my savings, I allocate blocks to certain known expenses, as well as future known expenses. That is why budgeting has been such a refresher to my approach with financial management. Atleast I can utilize old spending data to provide predictions for how much needs to be set aside for what is up ahead.

re: How much money do you put in savings every paycheck? (Posted on 12/6/12 at 4:09 pm to VABuckeye)

quote:So some of your monthly savings are actually bills? Like the $215 (which I presume is a car payment) for your sons graduation gift. Or the payment of your annual taxes.

Not for monthly bills. The property tax is saved monthly for an annual payout. I did concede in my thread that I'm defining savings loosely - that it's a list of things I'm saving for to avoid or minimize financing. Some save for a retirement horizon, some for a 5-10-20 year horizon for things like a college fund, but I decided to start saving for various other things I plan to use these savings for, some with less than a 5 year time horizon.

The car savings is comparable to a car payment, but I'm paying myself at interest in advance of purchase to avoid or minimize financing later. Am I breaking the rules of this thread?

With discounts (pre-tax money and 1 free commute for every 10), it comes out to about $5.80 per day. It would take me about two gallons of gas daily to drive a personal vehicle. That already exceeds the bus expense without even tabulating the parking cost, vehicle maintenance, and whatever the extra insurance rate would be for the "mileage from home to work" calculation they do.

The other non-monetary benefits of taking the commuter bus is I get time for personal reading. Currently reading Nassim Taleb's newest.

re: How much money do you put in savings every paycheck? (Posted on 12/6/12 at 6:13 pm to Willie Stroker)

Okay. I've just seen the dregs of society that hang around the bus stops in downtown (when I'm brave enough to vanture outside of the tunnels for lunch) and I imagined the bus to be filled with those types.

That actually doesn't sound bad at all. How late do those buses run? That might actually make the suburbs of Houston more appealing to me.

re: How much money do you put in savings every paycheck? (Posted on 12/6/12 at 8:01 pm to Willie Stroker)

quote:Holds me and about 50 others. It's an hour commute from a suburb about 30 miles outside downtown Houston. Some recline and sleep. Others like myself will either read, work, or listen to music until the bus starts dropping off people downtown.

With discounts (pre-tax money and 1 free commute for every 10), it comes out to about $5.80 per day. It would take me about two gallons of gas daily to drive a personal vehicle. That already exceeds the bus expense without even tabulating the parking cost, vehicle maintenance, and whatever the extra insurance rate would be for the "mileage from home to work" calculation they do.

Sounds like motherfricking hell to me....it's why I live in the Heights.

re: How much money do you put in savings every paycheck? (Posted on 12/7/12 at 12:03 am to Willie Stroker)

quote:With discounts (pre-tax money and 1 free commute for every 10), it comes out to about $5.80 per day. It would take me about two gallons of gas daily to drive a personal vehicle. That already exceeds the bus expense without even tabulating the parking cost, vehicle maintenance, and whatever the extra insurance rate would be for the "mileage from home to work" calculation they do.

re: How much money do you put in savings every paycheck? (Posted on 12/7/12 at 7:23 am to TheHiddenFlask)

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quote:I've just seen the dregs of society that hang around the bus stops in downtown (when I'm brave enough to vanture outside of the tunnels for lunch) and I imagined the bus to be filled with those types.

That actually doesn't sound bad at all. How late do those buses run? That might actually make the suburbs of Houston more appealing to me.

There are zombies that roam and are drawn to some bus stops, but they are mostly harmless. My standard line is, "I'm sorry, but I don't carry cash". The dregs will mainly loiter in front of convenience stores. Each commuter bus has a designated stop every couple of blocks, so you can always be selective about your peer group.

The suburb I live in has riders who mostly wear neckties, and read from their Kindles/iPads. In fact, I'm posting from an iPad on the commuter bus at this moment. The passengers are mostly silent and always dignified. Do you know that moment on an airplane when the door to the cabin is opened and its time to exit the plane where passengers throughout the plane immediately stand in the aisle to be one of the first ones off and few if any courteously offer others in front of them a place in line? That NEVER happens on this bus. It is orderly as hell at the final destination, with riders only rising from their seats when passengers in front of them have exited their seats to walk down the aisle. It would be a break of etiquette to rise from the back of the bus and walk to the front in order to exit before others.

I only venture into the tunnels occasionally for lunch, and as a means of getting to my bus stop when it rains. I find the tunnels too crowded and full of slow moving people. I feel more efficient and aware as a surface dweller. Speaking of rain and busses, there are some building lobbies where riders can wait without being exposed to the elements. Rain also keeps the zombies away.

I can't speak for all the routes, but the one I take runs till 10pm. After 6:00 pm, the pickup times start to get spaced out until there's an hour wait between pickups, but that gives you time to grab a beer before the ride home.

re: How much money do you put in savings every paycheck? (Posted on 12/7/12 at 7:32 am to cwill)

quote:Sounds like motherfricking hell to me....it's why I live in the Heights.

What the hell do you do that requires you to retire at 57?

I would love to live in the Heights. But I find a greater peace of mind living in the burbs with kids. For the price of a house in the Heights, you can own a mansion on the lake or on a golf course in the burbs.

I've lived in Heights-like neighborhoods in BR, and in NO. I would choose where I live now and with my commute every time over those more congested and costlier areas. By working downtown and living in the burbs, I get to enjoy the best of both worlds....at less cost (more savings).

As to the line of work - it's a federal law enforcement job. I guess that explains my comfort level walking amongst "the dregs".